/2012/05/07/the-problem-of-careful-usage/

The Problem of Careful Usage

Whenever I research a debatable usage point, I inevitably run across these words or something similar: careful usage. As in:

Stage 3: The form becomes commonplace even among many well-educated people, but it’s still avoided in careful usage.—Bryan Garner, Garner’s Modern American Usage

The problem is that the phrase “careful usage” and its ilk don’t usually mean careful usage. They’re code that traditionalists (a.k.a. peevers, SNOOTs, errorists, pedants, etc.) use to pound us with rules that have no foundation in real-world usage. “Careful usage” usually means “usage that hasn’t accepted any changes in English since the 18th century when grammarians thought English would be much improved by becoming more like Latin.”

“Careful usage” does not have to mean you follow every one of Miss Thistlebottom’s made-up rules. Or E.B. White’s pronouncements. Or … Well, you get the idea.

It doesn’t mean that you take someone’s random, personal style choices and call them “good grammar.”

“Careful usage” means you look things up. You consider what the text is trying to say and how people currently use words—particularly those people you’re trying to reach. If they’re particular to the point of peevishness and think English should look like Latin, lacking the common sense to see that they are not at all alike, then by all means, follow nonsensical, random rules that don’t reflect how the majority of English speakers think and write. After all, it’s the message that’s important. Don’t rock the boat.

But if you’re not trying to placate the one percent, then don’t let the traditionlists’ “careful usage” throw you for a loop. Do your homework: Find out how the word or phrase in question is really being used and how your audience understands it. Then let the results guide your decisions.

Good post, Erin. (And I’m glad to see your blog is still alive.) I think that “careful usage” usually boils down to the circular definition of “usage that cares about this rule.” For instance, Garner says that “all of” is avoided in careful usage where “all” would suffice, but I don’t see any evidence that this rule is followed, by either writers or editors, with any frequency or consistency.

“Careful usage” is demanded in formal contexts, where the fallout from chiding protest would wound greatly. Eschewing the proper use of “whom,” employing the singular “they,” and similar are casual, breezy usages that fly nicely on a blog, but stumble in a corporate press release.

But what is careless about choosing to use more casual usage in places like blogs? I agree that stricter, more formal usage is called for in certain contexts. But careful usage implies that writers and editors aren’t purposely choosing a more casual tone when appropriate, that instead they’re being sloppy or they’re not applying the rules because they’re ignorant of them. To me, careful usage means consciously deciding what rules to apply based on the text and the audience. It doesn’t mean blindly following one stylist’s rules across the board, as many who use the phrase would have you do.